Integrated semiconductor storage with at least a storage cell and procedure

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an integrated semiconductor memory with at least one memory cell having at least one transistor which forms an inversion channel in the switched-on state. The transistor comprises a structure element having a first source/drain region, a second source/drain region and a region arranged between the first and the second source/drain region, the structure element is insulated from a semiconductor substrate by an insulation layer, a gate dielectric being arranged on the structure element and a word line being arranged on the gate dielectric.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/840,328, filed May 7, 2004, entitled “Integrated SemiconductorStorage with at Least a Storage Cell and Procedure”, which claimspriority under 35 USC §119 to German Application No. DE 103 20 874.7,filed on May 9, 2003, and titled “Integrated Semiconductor Storage withat Least a Storage Cell and Procedure,” the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an integrated semiconductor memory with atleast one memory cell having at least one transistor which forms aninversion channel in the switched-on state. The invention furthermorerelates to a method for fabricating such an integrated semiconductormemory.

DESCRIPTION

Integrated semiconductor memories have a memory cell array with amultiplicity of memory cells for storing digital information as well asa logic area for accessing the memory cell array and for operating thesemiconductor memory. Information storage is effected in storagecapacitors, for example. The storage capacitors are accessed via aselection transistor arranged at the crossover location between a wordline and a bit line. The selection transistor is opened or closed bymeans of the word line.

In the logic area transistors are contained, for example, in decoders,sense amplifiers, switches or drivers. These transistors do not servefor selecting an individual memory cell and are therefore dimensioneddifferently than the selection transistors of memory cells. Thetransistors in the memory area are dimensioned such that, inter alia asmuch wafer area as possible is saved in the memory area. The transistorsin the logic area are dimensioned such that the desired switchingbehavior is achieved.

One conceivable design of the transistor in the memory area is thesurrounding gate transistor, in which structure elements formed by meansof a vertical, anisotropic etching, namely ridges, are used as a basicstructure for the formation of the transistor. In this case, thepatterned, usually elongated ridge is covered with a gate dielectric anda surrounding gate electrode formed on the side faces of the ridge, withthe aid of the spacer technique. A trench capacitor is arranged at oneend of the ridge. A first, lower source/drain region is formed by outdiffusion from the inner capacitor electrode of said trench capacitor. Asecond, upper source/drain region is formed by means of implantation onthe top side of the ridge. In this way, a vertical selection transistoris fabricated at said one lateral end of the ridge at which the trenchcapacitor is situated.

In publications, however, vertical selection transistors are describedmore frequently. In trenches extending deep into the semiconductorsubstrate and containing trench capacitors, they are situated at asmaller trench depth above the trench capacitors.

Transistors are usually fabricated as field-effect transistors. Afield-effect transistor comprises two source/drain regions. Between thetwo source/drain regions, in the on state of the transistor, anelectrically conductive channel is formed by inversion of dopedsemiconductor material. The source/drain regions and the semiconductorregion in which the inversion channel is formed are insulated from agate electrode by a gate dielectric. The inversion channel has aneffective channel length between source and drain which essentiallycorresponds to the lithographic resolution limit used.

As a result of the miniaturization of semiconductor memories, eversmaller dimensions of memory cells are being chosen and ever smalleroperating voltages are being applied. However, since the maximallycompatible current density in a memory cell is limited, there is theproblem that the writing and reading speed of semiconductor memoriescannot always be increased to the extent desired.

In particular leakage currents, which flow, into the substrate duringthe off-state of the transistor cause an early discharge of storedcharges. Further leakage currents flow through the material of thesemiconductor substrate. Mainly in the case of dynamic semiconductormemories, the occurring leakage currents shorten the refresh period andincrease the current consumption of the semiconductor memory.

Employing conventional transistors in which the channel region iselectrically insulated from the semiconductor substrate by an insulationlayer, during the switched-off state of the transistor in which thetransistor is non-conducting, the majority charge carriers in thechannel region cannot run off, neither through the insulation layer northrough the pan junctions to source and drain. The majority chargecarriers therefore accumulate and ultimately lead to leakage currentsbetween the storage capacitor and the bit line. Such a leakage currentalso occurs in case of a selection transistor with a channel regionwhich has no substrate contact and whose electrical potential isvariable (“floating body”).

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present invention is to provide an integratedsemiconductor memory with a memory cell having a selection transistor inwhich the smallest possible leakage currents occur. In particular,leakage currents which could arise between the first and the secondsource/drain region due to parasitic effects shall be prevented in theoff state of the selection transistor.

This is achieved according to an embodiment of the present invention bymeans of an integrated semiconductor memory device. Accordingly,provision is made of at least one memory cell having at least onetransistor which forms an inversion channel in the switched-on state,the transistor comprising a structure element containing a semiconductormaterial. The structure element comprising a first source/drain region,a second source/drain region and a region arranged between the first andthe second source/drain region. The structure element being insulatedfrom a semiconductor substrate by an insulation layer, a gate dielectricarranged on the structure element and a word line arranged on the gatedielectric. The gate dielectric including a high-resistance tunnelcontact having a first region, the layer thickness of which is so smallthat, in the switched-off state of the transistor, majority chargecarriers generated thermally in the structure element pass into the wordline by direct tunneling through the gate dielectric. Additionally, theentire region of the structure element which region is arranged betweenthe first and the second source/drain region being depleted of majoritycharge carriers in the switched-on state of the transistor.

By virtue of the high-resistance tunnel contact, charge carriers arisingin the off state, namely majority charge carriers which normally wouldcontribute to leakage currents between the first and the secondsource/drain region and thus between the storage capacitor and the bitline, can run off into the word line. The tunneling current conductsmajority charge carriers from the substrate region of the structureelement but does not alter the quantity of charges in the storagecapacitor.

Conventionally, the gate dielectric serves for electrical insulationbetween the channel region and the gate electrode and is optimized withregard to its insulation ability. According to the invention, the gatedielectric is also used as a tunnel layer enabling direct tunneling fromthe structure element into the word line. In case of direct tunneling,the probability of the presence of the tunneling-through charge carriersin the gate dielectric is equal to zero. Direct tunneling occurs indielectric layers having layer thicknesses of less than 5 nm. Bycontrast, in the case of dielectric layers having layer thicknessesgreater than 5 nm, which are provided in floating gate transistors,Fowler-Nordheim tunneling occurs.

The first region of the gate dielectric, whose layer thickness is sosmall that direct tunneling occurs in the off state of the transistor,may cover a plurality of outer surfaces of the structure element. As analternative, the first region of the gate dielectric may cover exactly asingle outer surface of the structure element, for example a top side ofthe structure element, the top side being opposed to the insulationlayer.

In case of semiconductor substrates having a buried insulation layer,majority charge carriers that accumulate in the structure element cannotbe conducted away through a substrate contact. According to anembodiment of the present invention, the majority charge carriers aretherefore conducted away into the word line through the first region ofthe gate dielectric.

It is preferably provided that a plurality of memory cells are connectedto the word line. A word line is a conductor line which controls manymemory cells. A word line can conduct away charge carriers. In contrastto a word line, a floating gate electrode of a floating gate transistordoes not extend over a plurality of memory cells, but rather isallocated only to a single memory cell. Moreover, the purpose of afloating gate is to store charge carriers, rather than to conduct themaway.

It is preferably provided that the structure element is arranged on aninsulation layer, the first source/drain region is arranged in thestructure element at one lateral end of the structure element and thesecond source/drain region is arranged in the structure element atanother lateral end of the structure element, and between the two endsof the structure element, a top side of the structure element, said topside being opposed to the insulation layer, and side faces of thestructure element which adjoin the top side are covered with anarrangement of layers comprising a gate dielectric and a gate electrode.

In this case, the selection transistor is completely situated above theburied insulation layer. The insulation layer preferably is an oxidelayer. All selection transistors of the semiconductor memory arearranged on the buried insulation layer and are insulated from oneanother by the insulation layer. Therefore shallow trench isolations arenot necessary. The current flow direction of the transistor channel runsparallel to the insulation layer. The current flow direction furthermoreis parallel to a direction of main extension of the structure element.The arrangement of layers comprising the gate dielectric and a gateelectrode covers a plurality of surfaces of the structure element. Thearrangement of layers covers, for example, a top side of the structureelement, the top side being arranged opposed to the insulation layer,and side faces of the structure element which extend from the insulationlayer to the top side of the structure element, the top side beingopposed to the insulation layer. The side faces therefore adjoin boththe top side of the structure element and the insulation layer. Therebya significantly larger electrically effective channel width than inconventional selection transistors is achieved, since twice thedimension of the structure element in the direction perpendicular to theinsulation layer (i.e. twice the height of the structure element) andthe width of the structure element perpendicular to the current flowdirection together constitute the channel width. Therefore, by means ofa large height of the structure element, high channel width areachievable without enlarging the basic area of the memory cell. As aresult, higher currents for storing and reading out information areachievable, so that the writing and reading speed of the semiconductormemory increases.

Consequently, the conflicting requirements made of the transistorproperties and of the retention behavior can be better reconciled withone another than in the case of a conventional semiconductor memory.

Moreover, the invention's tunnel contact leading to the word line allowsthermally generated charge carriers to run off from the structureelement without a leakage current contribution. By contrast, inconventional semiconductor memories in which the structure elements areisolated from the semiconductor substrate by the insulation layer,thermally generated charges can run off from the structure element onlyvia the two source/drain regions. This results in leakage currents whichalter the quantity of charges stored in the storage capacitor.

It is preferably provided that the gate dielectric has a second region,which has a layer thickness greater than the layer thickness of thefirst region. Preferably, the layer thickness of the first region isless than 3 nm and the layer thickness of the second region is greaterthan 3 nm. Preferably, only a small partial region of the surface of thestructure element is covered with the first region of the gatedielectric usable as a tunnel contact, since the gate dielectric isintended to effect electrical insulation in the on state of theselection transistor. In any event, due to the small magnitude ofeventual tunneling currents only small surface regions of the gatedielectric are required in order to carry off said tunneling currents.

A preferred embodiment provides for the first region of the gatedielectric to be arranged on a top side of the structure element, thetop side being opposed to the insulation layer. The second regioncomprises the side faces of the structure element. The gate dielectricis embodied in the form of a bird's beak at the two lateral ends of thestructure element. The bird's beak is formed after the gate patterningby means of an oxidation step and covers the first and the secondsource/drain region. The bird's beak is a thick dielectric layer which,in the off state of the transistor, effectively reduces tunnelingcurrents between the gate electrode and the inner capacitor electrode.

In terms of production engineering, it is possible to fabricate twodifferent layer thicknesses of the gate dielectric by introducing, andpreferably implanting nitrogen into the structure element. Accordingly,it is provided that a nitrogen dopant is introduced into the structureelement in a manner adjoining the first region of the gate dielectric,for example directly under the top side of the structure element, thetop side being opposed to the insulation layer. The nitrogen dopantreduces the growth rate of the gate oxide on the surface of thestructure element. Thereby the first and second regions of the gatedielectric each having different layer thicknesses can be fabricatedsimultaneously without the need for etching-back steps or masking stepsfor the thinner, first region.

It is preferably provided that the gate dielectric has a layer thicknessof approximately less than 3 nm, preferably on the order of between 2and 3 nm, in the first region. In the second region, the gate dielectrichas a layer thickness of between approximately 4 and 8 nm, for example.A layer thickness difference of at least on the order of 0.5 nm, evenbetter 1 nm, is advantageous in any event.

It is preferably provided that the memory cell is a dynamic memory celland the transistor is a selection transistor, and that the memory cellhas a storage capacitor, which is electrically connected to the firstsource/drain region. As an alternative, it is possible also in the caseof static semiconductor memories such as, for instance, SRAMs (staticRAM), whose memory cells are formed without storage capacitors, for allor some of the transistors to be provided with a tunnel window accordingto the invention in the gate oxide.

It is preferably provided that the storage capacitor is a trenchcapacitor having an inner capacitor electrode, an outer capacitorelectrode and a capacitor dielectric, and, on the bottom side of theinsulation layer, the distance between the inner capacitor electrode andthe outer capacitor electrode is of exactly the same magnitude as at abottom of the trench capacitor.

In conventional trench capacitors, a collar region, i.e. a thickdielectric layer, is provided in an upper part of the capacitor trenchon the trench inner wall. The inner capacitor electrode is electricallyinsulated from the substrate region of the selection transistor by thecollar region. This prevents the formation of parasitic transistors. Thecollar region leads to constrictions for the inner capacitor electrodeat the bottom side of the insulation layer. The distance between theinner and outer capacitor electrodes is increased. As a result, thecapacitance of the storage capacitor is reduced. In the case of thepreferred embodiment without a collar region, by contrast, thisdisadvantage is obviated. The formation of parasitic transistors isprevented by the buried insulation layer and a collar region is nolonger necessary. The distance between the inner and outer capacitorelectrodes only resulting from the capacitor dielectric and is verysmall over the entire extent of the capacitor between the bottom of thecapacitor and the insulation layer, as a result of which the capacitanceis increased.

It is preferably provided that the inner capacitor electrode extends tothe bottom side of the buried insulation layer and is connected by acontact to the first source/drain region of the selection transistor.The capacitor dielectric extends up to the bottom side of the insulationlayer to the bottom of the storage capacitor. The bottom side of theinsulation layer is that boundary surface of the insulation layer whichadjoins the semiconductor substrate. That boundary surface of theinsulation layer which adjoins the structure elements is the top side ofsaid insulation layer. The contact extends from the bottom side of theburied insulation layer to a region above the insulation layer. Thecontact is electrically insulated from the substrate material of thesemiconductor substrate by the insulation layer. Consequently, leakagecurrents between a storage capacitor and a selection transistor canhardly occur in this region.

It is preferably provided that a top side of the contact, wherein thetop side is arranged on the same side of the insulation layer as thestructure element, the contact is arranged nearer to the buriedinsulation layer than the top side of the structure element, and thatthe contact is insulated from a further word line by an insulating upperfilling structure. The further word line (passing word line) runs acrossthe trench capacitor, but does not control the selection transistor ofthe memory cell containing said trench capacitor. The passing word lineis insulated from the top side of the contact by the upper fillingstructure.

It is preferably provided that the semiconductor substrate is dopedbelow the buried insulation layer.

It is preferably provided that a bit line contact is in contact with anend face of the structure element. The bit line contact preferablyadjoins an end face of the structure element which extends from theinsulation layer to the top side of the structure element, said top sidebeing opposed to the insulation layer. The bit line contact touches theentire end face, so that the end face forms a common interface of thestructure element and the bit line contact. The end face of thestructure element furthermore extends to a spacer adjoining the wordline. With the aid of the word line spacer, that lateral end of thestructure element which is arranged remote from the capacitor can bepatterned without an additional etching mask. Consequently, the lateralend of the structure element terminates with an outer surface of thespacer. That end face of the structure element which is arranged at thisend is connected by a bit line contact to a bit line running above thestructure element.

It is preferably provided that a spacer is arranged beside the wordline, said spacer having an outer surface arranged flush with a lateralend of the structure element. The spacer covers a side wall of the wordline and has an outer surface opposed to the side wall and further has abottom side which extends from the side wall of the word line to theouter surface of the spacer. The bottom side of the spacer is arrangedon the structure element. A lower region of the outer surface of thespacer is arranged flush with the lateral end of the structure elementin the lateral direction, i.e. in the direction of main extension of thestructure element. The lower region of the outer surface of the spacerhas the same lateral position as the lateral end of the structureelement.

It is provided that a bit line is arranged above the structure element,which bit line runs in the direction of main extension of the structureelement and is connected to the second source/drain region. Amultiplicity of bit line contacts, each adjoining an end face of arespective structure element, are connected to the bit line. Word linesand bit lines are electrically insulated from one another by dielectriclayers and fillings, which contain oxides or nitrides, for example.

It is preferably provided that the arrangement of layers comprising thegate dielectric and the gate electrode covers the top side of thestructure element being opposed to the insulation layer, and the sidefaces of the structure element which adjoin the top side. The word linethus forms the gate electrode on the top side of the structure elementand on adjoining side faces of the structure element and is thereseparated from the semiconductor material of the structure element onlyby the gate oxide layer. The effective channel width is therefore largerthan the width of the top side of the structure element measuredperpendicularly to the direction of main extension of the structureelement. The structure element may also be patterned in a mannernarrower than the optical resolution limit. The channel width is notadversely influenced thereby, since essentially the height of thestructure element contributes to the channel width.

Preferably, the semiconductor memory has a multiplicity of memory cellswith transistors, a bit line contact being arranged only at every secondcrossover between a bit line and a word line and a word line passingabove or below a storage capacitor at the remaining crossovers.

It is preferably provided that the structure element is formed inparallelepipedal fashion. Such a structure element has a rectangular,preferably elongate basic area and is also referred to as a ridge. Thelength of that region of the structure element which is arranged betweenthe source/drain regions and determines the effective channel length ofthe transistor channel, is at least on the order of two times,preferably more than approximately two and a half times, the ridge widthmeasured in the direction of the word line course. The ridge inparticular has such a geometry which ensures that the selectiontransistor is a fully depleted device. In case of a fully depleteddevice, the entire region of the structure element which is arrangedbetween the two source/drain regions is fully depleted of majoritycharge carriers in the on-state of the transistor. This region is alsoreferred to as a “transistor body”.

The aspect on which the invention is based is furthermore achieved bymeans of a method having the following steps:

-   a) providing a semiconductor substrate having a buried insulation    layer and a layer made of semiconductor material on the insulation    layer,-   b) patterning the layer made of semiconductor material to form    structure elements separated from one another,-   c) forming a gate dielectric on the surface of a structure element,-   d) depositing at least one gate layer,-   e) forming a word line by patterning the at least one gate layer,    and-   f) completing a transistor by forming a first and a second    source/drain region into the structure element at opposed ends of    the structure element,    in step c) at least one first region of the gate dielectric being    formed, and the formation of the first region of the gate dielectric    being terminated at a point in time at which the first region of the    gate dielectric has a layer thickness which is so small that, in the    switched-off state of the transistor, majority charge carriers    generated thermally in the structure element pass into the word line    by direct tunneling through the gate dielectric.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in step c), a gatedielectric is formed which can be utilized not only as electricalinsulation between the structure element and the word line in theswitched-on state of the transistor, but also as a high-resistancetunnel contact in the switched-off state of the transistor. For thispurpose, the gate dielectric is grown, at least on a part of the surfaceof the structure element, with a small layer thickness which is betweenon the order of 2 and 3 nm, for example, but is in any event less thanapproximately 3 nm. This layer thickness corresponds to the final layerthickness of the gate dielectric in the first region. The gatedielectric is formed for example by an oxidation step in which thesupply of oxygen is ended at a point in time at which the layerthickness of the gate dielectric attained is still so small that, in theswitched-off state of the transistor, majority charge carriers generatedthermally in the structure element pass into the word line by directtunneling.

Further method steps for forming the integrated semiconductor memory areperformed in a known manner. Thus, after the patterning of the layermade of semiconductor material to form structure elements, a channeldopant will be introduced, for example by implantation. Before thetransistors are produced, firstly trench capacitors are fabricated belowthe buried insulation layer. A first source/drain region of theselection transistor is electrically connected to a trench capacitor. Abit line contact is formed in a manner adjoining the second source/drainregion. The bit line is fabricated above the bit line contact. Theresult is an integrated semiconductor memory with a multiplicity ofmemory cells each having a transistor and a storage capacitor. Thestorage capacitor may also be a stacked capacitor. In this case, thecapacitor is fabricated only after the fabrication of the selectiontransistor.

It is preferably provided that in step c) a second region of the gatedielectric is formed, said second region having a layer thicknessgreater than the layer thickness of the first region of the gatedielectric. In this case, the gate dielectric is fabricated in twodifferent regions of the surface of the structure element with differentmagnitude of layer thickness. The first region of the gate dielectrichas a smaller layer thickness than the second region. The first regionof the gate dielectric is therefore suitable as a high-resistance tunnelcontact in the off state of the transistor, whereas the second region isonly usable for electrical insulation.

It is preferably provided that prior to forming the gate dielectric, anitrogen dopant is introduced into a partial region of the structureelement. The nitrogen dopant is implanted where the gate dielectric tobe grown is intended to have a particularly small layer thickness. Theimplanted nitrogen locally reduces the growth rate of the dielectric.If, for example, an oxide layer is grown as a gate dielectric by meansof an oxidation step, then the nitrogen dopant has the effect that, forthe same oxidation time, the layer thickness of the gate dielectricattained is smaller on the first region of the structure elementcomprising the nitrogen dopant than on the second region, formed withoutnitrogen dopant.

It is preferably provided that the nitrogen dopant is introduced into apartial region of the structure element which is arranged directly belowa top side of the structure element, said top side being opposed to theinsulation layer, whereas a region of the structure element which isarranged nearer to the insulation layer is free of a nitrogen dopant.The nitrogen dopant is preferably introduced under the top side of thestructure element, said top side being arranged opposed to theinsulation layer, where it leads to a locally reduced layer thickness ofthe gate dielectric. By contrast, a region of the structure element nearthe bottom side of the structure element, said bottom side forming theinterface between the structure element and the insulation layer, isfree of a nitrogen dopant.

The structure element is covered from a plurality of sides with anarrangement of layers comprising a gate dielectric and a gate electrode.By way of example, a top side of the structure element, said top sidebeing opposed to the insulation layer, and side faces of the structureelement which adjoin the top side are covered with the gate dielectricand the word line. A fully depleted transistor is thereby fabricated, inwhich the entire region of the structure element is arranged between thefirst and second source/drain regions. The transistor is depleted of amajority of charge carriers in the switched-on state. In the switched-onstate of the transistor, the inversion channel formed of minority chargecarriers.

The above and still further aspects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof,particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein like reference numerals in the various figures are utilized todesignate like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described below with reference to the figures, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic cross section through a semiconductor memoryaccording to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a further diagrammatic cross section along the line C-C inFIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 shows a detail view from FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 shows a further detail view from FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view along the direction of mainextension of the structure element in accordance with FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 shows a diagrammatic top view on the semiconductor memory ofFIGS. 1 and 2, and

FIGS. 7 to 12 show a diagrammatic sequence of a method according to theinvention.

The following detailed explanations of Figures and of the preferredembodiments reveal the methods and apparatus of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an integrated semiconductor memory 10. The SOIsemiconductor substrate 20 is an SOI substrate. It comprises a buriedinsulation layer 11. Structure elements 4 are arranged directly on theinsulation layer 11. The selection transistors 3 of the memory cells 1are arranged above the insulation layer. Each selection transistor 3 hasa first 5 and a second source/drain region 6. The first source/drainregion 5 is situated at a first lateral end A of the structure element4. The second source/drain region 6 is arranged at an opposed lateralend B. The structure element extends with its direction of mainextension x between said lateral ends A, B. The direction of mainextension x coincides with the current flow direction I of thetransistor channel. The transistor channel is an inversion channel ofminority charge carriers which is formed in the switched-on state(on-state) of the transistor 3. The inversion channel forms if asufficiently high source-drain voltage is present between the twosource/drain regions and an electrical potential which attracts theminority charge carriers of the channel region of the structure elementwhich is present on the word line.

The structure element 4 is preferably formed in parallelepipedalfashion. The structure element 4 has a bottom side forming the interfaceto the insulation layer 11, a top side 15 opposed to the insulationlayer 11, and side faces 14 adjoining the top side 15, the bottom sideand the lateral ends A, B. The side faces in particular extend from theinsulation layer 11 to the top side 15 of the structure element 4, saidtop side being opposed to the insulation layer 11. A gate dielectric 9is arranged on the structure element 4 and a word line 16 is arranged onthe gate dielectric 9. The gate dielectric 9 and the word line 16 arelayers of an arrangement of layers which covers both the top side 15 ofthe structure element 4 and the side faces 14 thereof adjoining the topside 15. The outer surfaces of the structure element need not becontinued by edges, but rather may also merge with one another throughrounded portions. By way of example, the side faces 14 and the top side15 of the structure element 4 may be connected to form a single curvedouter surface. An inner side of the gate dielectric 9 is lying on thetop side 15 and on the side faces 14 of the structure element 4. Anouter side of the gate dielectric 9 is arranged opposed to the innerside of the gate dielectric. Both at the top side 15 and at the sidefaces 14 of the structure element 4, the word line 16 is lying on theouter side of the gate dielectric 9 and is at a distance from thestructure element 4 which corresponds to the local layer thickness d orD of the gate dielectric 9.

The insulation layer 11 preferably is an oxide layer. Storage capacitors2 are embedded in the semiconductor substrate 20 below the insulationlayer 11. The trenches in which the storage capacitors 2 are arrangedalso extend through the insulation layer 11.

In contrast to conventional storage capacitors, the storage capacitor 2does not have a collar region. Instead, at the bottom side of theinsulation layer 11, the capacitor dielectric 13 is in contact with theouter capacitor electrode 18 and the inner capacitor electrode 12. Thetwo capacitor electrodes are thus arranged at a distance from oneanother which corresponds to the layer thickness of the capacitordielectric. Said capacitor dielectric 13 extends from the bottom 26 ofthe storage capacitor 2 up to the insulation layer 11 and has the samelayer thickness everywhere.

The outer capacitor electrode 18 may be electrically coupled by a buriedelectrode (buried plate) arranged in the bulk material remote from theburied insulation layer 11. As an alternative to this, the entiresubstrate material is heavily doped, for instance heavily n-doped, andforms the outer capacitor electrodes 18 of all the storage capacitors.The capacitor dielectric 13 may have one or else a plurality of layers.The electrical connection between the inner capacitor electrode 12 andthe first source/drain region 5 of the selection transistor 3 is formedby a contact 19.

The contact 19 and the selection transistor 3 are insulated from thesemiconductor material of the semiconductor substrate 20 by the buriedinsulation layer 11, so that leakage currents, in so far as they occurat all, are smaller in this region than in case of conventionalsemiconductor memories. The insulation layer 11 has openings in whichthe material of the insulation layer 11 is removed. The contacts 19 arearranged in the openings. They respectively connect a storage capacitor2 to a selection transistor. Each contact 19 has a top side arrangeddeeper than the top side 15 of the structure element 4. The top side ofthe contact 19 is covered with an insulating filling structure 30composed of an oxide, for example. The filling structure 30 insulatesthe contact 19 from a passing word line 16 ab.

It is preferably provided that a spacer 21 is arranged beside the wordline, said spacer having an outer surface 21 b arranged flush with alateral end B of the structure element 4. The spacer 21 covers a sidewall of the word line 16 and has an outer surface 16 opposed to the sidewall 16, and also a bottom side extending from the side wall of the wordline 16 to the outer surface 21 b of the spacer. The bottom side of thespacer 21 is arranged on the structure element 4. A lower region of theouter surface 21 b of the spacer 21 is arranged flush with the lateralend B of the structure element 4 in the lateral direction, i.e. in thedirection of main extension x of the structure element 4. The lowerregion of the outer surface 21 b of the spacer 21 has the same lateralposition in the x-direction as the lateral end B of the structureelement 4.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section through FIG. 1 along the line C-C, i.e.perpendicular to the plane of the drawing of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, thedirection of main extension x of the structure element 4 runsperpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The top side 15 and sidefaces 14 of the structure element 4 which adjoin the top side arecovered by an arrangement of layers comprising a gate dielectric 9, afirst, lower gate layer 7 and a second, upper gate layer 8. The firstgate layer 7 comprises polysilicon, for example, and the second gatelayer contains tungsten, for example. The gate electrode is formed bythe first and the second gate layer and is isolated from the structureelement 4 by the gate dielectric 9.

The dimensions in FIG. 2 are not illustrated to scale. The height of thestructure element is preferably greater than the lithographic resolutionlimit used in the course of exposure during the production of thesemiconductor memory. In particular, the height of the structure elementand thus the height of the side faces 14 may be greater than thedistance of the side faces 14 from one another. The greater the heightof the structure element 4, the greater the effective channel width ofthe transistor channel. In FIG. 2, the insulation layer 11 is arrangedbelow the structure element and the bulk material of the substrate 20 isarranged below the insulation layer 11. Below the insulation layer 11,the substrate 20 is doped, preferably heavily n-doped. Between thesource/drain regions 5, 6, the structure element 4 has a dopant adaptedto the desired electrical properties of the selection transistor. Inparticular, the semiconductor material of the structure element 4 may bedoped a different dopant, for instance with a dopant of a differentcharge carrier type, and/or a different dopant concentration than thesemiconductor material 20 below the buried oxide layer 11. The bit line17 is insulated from the word line 16 by an oxide layer 22 or by anotherdielectric in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged detail view from FIG. 2, illustrating thestructure element 4, the gate dielectric 9 and the gate electrode 16,which forms a portion of the word line 16. On the side walls 14 of thestructure element, the gate dielectric 9 has a layer thickness D, whichprevents charge carriers from tunneling from the structure element 4into the word line 16. On the top side 15 of the structure element 4,however, the gate dielectric 9 has a layer thickness d of less than 3nm, so that tunneling (for example of holes in case of an p-dopedstructure element) is possible there. Majority charge carriers generatedthermally in the structure element 4 can leave the semiconductormaterial of the structure element 4 through the thin gate dielectric 9on the top side 15 of the structure element 4 and are conducted awaythrough the word line. Therefore, a substrate contact is no longernecessary.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view through the end of the structureelement at which the gate dielectric 9 is formed as a bird's beak ofincreased layer thickness D′. The smaller, mutually different layerthicknesses of the gate dielectric 9 below the plane of the drawing (don the top side of the structure element 4 and D on the side faces ofthe structure element) are indicated by broken lines. In FIG. 4, theinversion channel 34 extends over the entire cross section of thestructure element in the on-state of the transistor, since thearrangement of layers comprising the gate dielectric 9 and the gateelectrode covers more than one face of the structure element. The memorycell can therefore be read and reprogrammed particularly rapidly.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view along the direction of mainextension x of the structure element 4. The illustration shows thestructure element 4, at whose lateral ends A, B the source/drain regions5, 6 are introduced into the structure element 4. The structure element4 is covered with the gate dielectric 9. At the ends A and B of thestructure element, the gate dielectric 9 has the layer thickness D′(bird's beak). On the top side 15 of the structure element 4, a firstregion 31 of the gate dielectric 9, which first region has a layerthickness d of less than 3 nm, is arranged in the direction of mainextension x between the source/drain regions 5, 6. Majority chargecarriers which are generated thermally in the switched-off state of thetransistor can tunnel through the first region 31 of the gate dielectric9. They leave that region 4b of the structure element which is arrangedbetween the source/drain regions 5, 6, by means of direct tunnelingthrough the first region 31 of the gate dielectric 9, and are conductedaway through into the word line 16. In terms of production engineering,the first region 31 having a reduced layer thickness d can be fabricatedby means of a nitrogen dopant. The bird's beak is produced after thegate patterning by means of an oxidation step.

If, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the selection transistor is an n-MOSFET,the electrons of thermally generated electron-hole pairs can migratefrom the region 4 b into the n-doped source/drain regions 5, 6. Theholes cannot do this owing to their opposite charge. However, they canleave the region 4 b of the structure element 4 by means of directtunneling through the first region 31 of the gate dielectric 9. Theythus pass into the word line.

FIG. 6 shows a plan view of an arrangement of seven storage capacitors 2which, in FIG. 6, are connected to a selection transistor 3 on theirright-hand side. The storage capacitors 2 are arranged below the buriedinsulation layer 11, whereas the selection transistors 3 are arrangedabove the buried insulation layer 11. Each of the word lines 16 crossesthe main direction of extent x of a structure element 4 and surroundsthe structure element 4 preferably on a plurality of sides. The wordline 16 in particular surrounds a plurality of side faces 14 and also atop side 15 arranged between the side faces. As a result, not only is alarge channel width obtained; by means of ridges 4 which may beconfigured narrower in direction y, with the aid of spacers, than thedistance between the bit lines 17, a complete depletion of chargecarriers is achieved in the semiconductor material of the structureelement, and thus a nearly ideal on/off current characteristic of theselection transistor 3 is achieved. The sub-threshold slope of theoperating characteristic curves of such a transistor is significantlyhigher than in case of a conventional transistor; a significantly highercurrent is achieved with a significantly reduced voltage swing at thegate. This affords advantages over conventional memory cell types, forinstance a higher current conducting capacity and a smaller area takenup by the circuits.

In FIG. 6, the structure elements 4 are arranged in rows along the bitlines 17 running above them. The direction of main extension x is thesame as the direction in which the bit lines 17 run. Memory cells 1which are connected to bit lines 17 that are the nearest adjacent to oneanother are arranged offset with respect to one another in the xdirection. They are driven by two different word lines 16. Each wordline 16 runs in the y direction alternately over a structure element 4of one memory cell and over a storage capacitor 2 of a respectivefurther memory cell. A plurality of memory cells 1 are connected to eachword line.

In order to fabricate the semiconductor memory according to theinvention, use is made of an SOI substrate, for example, which is dopedbelow its oxide layer 11. The substrate is covered with a layer sequencewhich serves as an etching mask for the patterning of capacitortrenches. The layer sequence may contain an oxide layer, a nitridelayer, a layer made of borosilicate glass as well as a polysiliconlayer. The photolithographic patterning of the mask is followed by theetching of the capacitor trenches. This is followed by deposition of thecapacitor dielectric (for instance a nitride, oxide, aluminum oxide,etc.) and, on the latter, the inner capacitor electrode. The innercapacitor electrode may comprise heavily n-doped polysilicon. Thematerial of the inner capacitor electrode is etched back at most to thelower edge of the buried insulation layer 11 of the semiconductorsubstrate 20. The material of the inner capacitor electrode which hasnot been etched back and remains in the trench completely fills theregion of the trench below the insulation layer. The capacitordielectric 13 is then removed at the level of the structure element, apolysilicon layer is deposited and subsequently etched backapproximately to the level of the top side of the structure element 4 ora little deeper. Half of each contact 19 is removed, so that a contacthaving a semicircular basic area is produced from a contact having anoriginally circular basic area. The etched semicircular opening besidethe semicircular contact is filled with an insulating material, forinstance an oxide 30. The insulating material is also applied to the topside of the contact 19. Afterward, a hard mask for patterning thestructure elements is patterned lithographically. In order to fabricateparticularly fine hard mask structures for patterning the structureelements, it is also possible to use a spacer as a mask. As a result, itis possible to achieve widths of the structure elements in the ydirection which are smaller than the lithographic resolution limit usedfor the patterning of word lines. After the etching of the surroundingsof the structure elements, the spacers used as an etching mask areremoved and a dopant for a channel region is introduced, for instance,by means of an implantation, into the semiconductor material of thestructure element. The gate dielectric is then fabricated. In order,however, to obtain a gate dielectric having a first region with asmaller layer thickness and a second region with a larger layerthickness, firstly a nitrogen dopant 33 is introduced closely under thetop side 15 of the structure element 4, said top side being opposed tothe insulation layer 11. The nitrogen dopant 33 reduces the growth rateof the gate dielectric 9 on the surface of the structure element 4during the subsequent oxidation step. In this way, the first region 31of the gate dielectric 9, the layer thickness d of which is less than 3nm, is produced on that region of the surface of the structure element 4into which the nitrogen dopant 33 has been introduced. The second region32 of the gate dielectric 9, which has a layer thickness D of more than3 nm, is produced on the remaining surface of the structure element 4.During operation of the semiconductor memory, the first region 31 of thegate dielectric 9 constitutes a high-resistance tunnel contact throughwhich majority charge carriers generated thermally in the structureelement 4 flow away into the word line.

Polysilicon is deposited as first gate layer 7 onto the gate dielectric9 and is subjected to chemical mechanical polishing. A second gate layer8 made of tungsten, for example, is deposited on the first gate layer 7and a covering layer made of nitride 23 is deposited on said second gatelayer. The word line layer stack is subsequently patternedlithographically. This patterning comprises, inter alia, a nitrideetching, a resist removal, a tungsten etching, an etching of polysiliconand the subsequent side wall oxidation of the word line. Afterward, anitride or a different spacer material is deposited and etched backanisotropically, thereby producing spacers 21, 24. Afterward, the firstand second source/drain regions are formed and covered by an oxynitridedeposition and a deposition of BPSG (borophosphosilicate glass), whichis made to flow thermally. After the BPSG filling has been polished backto the top side of the nitride 23 covering the word lines, an undopedoxide is deposited. The oxide is patterned lithographically. Bit linecontact holes are then etched for the purpose of making contact with thesecond source/drain regions 6. The etching comprises an oxide etching,an oxynitride etching and a silicon etching. Finally, a metal isdeposited for the purpose of fabricating the bit line contacts and thebit lines themselves. In this way, a selection transistor with atransistor channel having a horizontal current direction is fabricatedat each structure element in the memory cell array. The selectiontransistor, in the on-state, enables a high write and read current tothe storage capacitor 2 and, in the off-state, is nevertheless insulatedfrom the material of the semiconductor substrate 20 by the buriedinsulation layer 11. The integrated semiconductor memory fabricated inthis way has trench capacitors 2, whose capacitively effective capacitorareas extend up to the bottom side of the insulation layer. The trenchcapacitor 2 therefore has a larger capacitance than trench capacitorswhich have a collar region. The storage capacitor may likewise be astacked capacitor. In this case, the storage capacitor is arranged abovethe word lines and there is no electrical connection whatsoever betweenthe substrate material and the memory cell. A memory cell on which thesemiconductor memory according to the invention is based, typically hasa basic area of 8 F2, where F corresponds to the optical resolutionlimit or typical structure width of structures producedlithographically.

The method steps for forming the structure element 4 and the gatedielectric 9 are described in greater detail below with reference toFIGS. 7 to 12. In accordance with FIG. 7, a semiconductor substrate 20is provided, having a buried insulation layer 11 and, on the insulationlayer 11, a layer 4 a made of semiconductor material (SOI substrate;silicon on insulator). The layer 4 a made of semiconductor material issubsequently patterned, thereby producing a multiplicity of structureelements 4, for example ridges. In FIG. 8, the ridges are illustratedperpendicular to the direction of the transistor channel. Each structureelement 14 has a top side 15, which is opposed to the insulation layer11 and is adjoined by the side faces of the structure element 4. A firstside face is arranged opposed to a second side face. In accordance withFIG. 9, a nitrogen dopant 15 is introduced into a partial region 27 ofthe structure element 4, namely preferably into a region directly belowthe top side 15 of the structure element 4. In particular, nitrogen canalso be introduced into a smaller partial region 27 of the structureelement 4 arranged directly below the top side 15 of the structureelement 4.

Finally, a gate dielectric is formed on the surface of the structureelement 4, as illustrated in FIG. 10. For this purpose, firstly anitrogen dopant 33 is introduced closely under the top side 15 of thestructure element 4. The surface of the structure element 4 is thenoxidized. The nitrogen dopant 33 leads to a locally reduced growth rateof the gate dielectric 9 on the top side 15 of the structure element 4.The first region 31 of the gate dielectric 9 is produced there, whichfirst region has a layer thickness of less than 3 nm and can thereforebe utilized as a tunnel contact. The layer thickness of the first region31 of the gate dielectric 9 is so small that, in the switched-off stateof the transistor majority charge carriers generated thermally in thestructure element 4 pass into the word line 16 by means of directtunneling through the gate dielectric 9. The layer thickness d of thefirst region 31 of the gate dielectric is preferably less than 3 nm; itis between 2 and 3 nm, by way of example. The first region 31 isarranged on the top side of the structure element 4. By contrast, asecond region 32 of the gate dielectric 9 has a layer thickness Dgreater than 3 nm. The second region 32 of the gate dielectric 9 servesfor electrical insulation, whereas the first region 31 also serves as ahigh-resistance tunnel contact. The second region 32 is formed at sidefaces 14 of the structure element 4.

In accordance with FIG. 11, at least one gate layer 7 is deposited,which covers the gate dielectric 9 arranged on the top side and on theadjoining side faces of the structure element 4. FIG. 11 furthermoreshows that majority charge carriers (for example holes in the case of ap-doped structure element 4), in the off state of the transistor, tunnelthrough the first region 31 of the gate dielectric 9 and thereby passinto the word line 16. FIGS. 7 to 11 show a cross-sectional view of thestructure element 4 perpendicular to the current flow direction of thetransistor channel.

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view parallel to the current flowdirection of the transistor channel. In accordance with FIG. 12, a wordline 16 is patterned. The word line 16 has at least one gate layer 7. Asecond gate layer may be provided on the gate layer 7, said second gatelayer having a higher electrical conductivity than the gate layer 7. Thearrangement of layers comprising the gate dielectric 9 and the word line16 covers the structure element 4. Source/drain dopants are introducedat opposed ends A, B of the structure element 4, thereby producing afirst 5 and a second source/drain region 6.

The length l of that region 4 b of the structure element 4 which isarranged between the first 5 and the second source/drain region 6 ispreferably a factor of at least 2.5 greater than the width b of thestructure element 4 as illustrated in FIG. 11, the width being measuredin the direction perpendicular to the current flow direction of thetransistor channel and parallel to the insulation layer 11. This ensuresthat the transistor 3 is a fully depleted device, in the case of whichthe entire structure element 4 between the first source/drain region 5and the second source/drain region 6 is fully depleted of majoritycharge carriers in the switched-on state. As a result, high currents areachieved during the storage and read-out of information. In theswitched-off state of the transistor, majority charge carriers generatedthermally in the structure element 4 are conducted away through thefirst region 31 of the gate dielectric 9 into the word line 16. In thiscase, the state of charging of the storage capacitor connected to thefirst source/drain region 5 is not altered, i.e. this does not give riseto any leakage currents.

The embodiment of a semiconductor memory according to the invention asillustrated in the figures is only by way of example. As an alternative,the semiconductor memory may be for example a memory with a stackedcapacitor or a memory without a capacitor, having only transistors.Moreover, any desired semiconductor memory which has a “floating body”,i.e. a channel region with a variable electrical potential lacking asubstrate connection, may be equipped with a tunnel window according tothe invention.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that various modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope. Accordingly, other implementations are withinthe scope of the following claims.

List of Reference Symbols

-   1 memory cell-   2 storage capacitor-   3 transistor-   4 structure element-   4 a layer made of semiconductor material-   4 b region of the structure element-   5 first source/drain region-   6 second source/drain region-   7 first gate layer-   8 second gate layer-   9 gate dielectric-   10 integrated semiconductor memory-   11 insulation layer-   12 inner capacitor electrode-   13 capacitor dielectric-   14 side face of a structure element-   15 top side of a structure element-   16 word line-   16 a gate electrode-   16 b further word line-   17 bit line-   17 a bit line contact-   17 b end face-   18 outer capacitor electrode-   19 contact-   20 semiconductor substrate-   21 spacer-   21 b outer surface-   22 oxide layer-   23 nitride layer-   24 further spacer-   25 insulating filling-   26 bottom of the storage capacitor-   27 partial region of the structure element-   30 insulating filling structure-   31 first region-   32 second region-   33 nitrogen dopant-   34 inversion channel-   A, B lateral ends of the structure element-   B width of the structure element-   d, D layer thicknesses-   llength of region 4 b-   I current flow direction of the transistor channel-   T time-   t point in time-   x direction of main extension-   y, z directions

1. A method for fabricating an integrated semiconductor memory with atleast one memory cell including a transistor and a storage capacitor,said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a semiconductorsubstrate including an insulation layer and a layer made ofsemiconductor material on the insulation layer, b) patterning the layermade of semiconductor material to form structure elements separated fromone another, c) forming a gate dielectric on the surface of a structureelement, d) depositing at least one gate layer, e) forming a word lineby patterning the at least one gate layer, and f) completing atransistor by implanting a first and a second source/drain region intothe structure element at opposed ends of the structure element.
 2. Themethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein in step c) further comprises,forming a second region of the gate dielectric wherein, said secondregion including a layer thickness greater than the layer thickness ofthe first region of the gate dielectric.
 3. The method as claimed inclaim 2, wherein prior to forming the gate dielectric, a nitrogen dopantis introduced into a partial region of the structure element.
 4. Themethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nitrogen dopant is introducedinto a partial region of the structure element which is arrangeddirectly below a top side of the structure element, said top side beingopposed to the insulation layer, whereas a region of the structureelement which is arranged nearer to the insulation layer is free of anitrogen dopant.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein step c)further comprises: forming at least one first region of the gatedielectric, and the formation of the first region of the gate dielectricbeing terminated at approximately a point in time at which the firstregion of the gate dielectric has a layer thickness which is so smallthat, in the switched-off state of the transistor, majority chargecarriers generated thermally in the structure element pass into the wordline by direct tunneling through the gate dielectric.